Status: 10/26/2021 3:28 a.m.
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Egypt’s President Al-Sisi lifted the state of emergency in the country after four and a half years. His country is now an “oasis of stability”. The government had previously extended the state of emergency several times.
Around four and a half years after its imposition, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi lifted the state of emergency. “Thanks to its great population (…) Egypt has become an oasis of security and stability in the region,” wrote the head of state on the online service Facebook.
The state of emergency was declared in April 2017 after bomb attacks on two Coptic churches in Cairo with more than 40 dead. The state of emergency expanded the powers of the security authorities. Among other things, the police were given greater leeway in arresting people. Fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of assembly were only valid to a limited extent.
Suppression of the opposition
The country has been fighting against Islamist insurgents for years, especially in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula. But sometimes attacks were carried out in other parts of the country. Since February 2018, the authorities have been taking action against militant Islamists, especially in northern Sinai and in the desert in the west of the country.
According to human rights groups, the emergency rights were also used to suppress the opposition. The number of political prisoners is given as around 60,000. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah a-Sisi has been in power since 2014.
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